Directed by Alex Prolys
In 1958 a group of American elementary school students were asked to draw their depictions of life in fifty years’ time, and fifty years later a time capsule containing their drawings is unearthed. One serious little girl fills her page with an endless stream of apparently random numbers and when her teacher stops her from scribbling, she continues to scratch the desk. Caleb (Chandler Canterbury) ends up with her screed and of course his father Ted (Nicolas Cage) just happens to be a physics professor. When Ted works out that the encoded message predicts the dates, death tolls and coordinates of every major disaster of the past 50 years, images of disasters flood the screen.
When Ted realises that there are three more disasters to come he seeks help from the daughter Diana (Rose Byrne) and granddaughter Abby (Lara Robinson) of the now-deceased author of the cryptic prophecies. The director of Dark City and The Crows tries to bring about the disaster film to end all disaster films. The build up is great, with details of approaching disasters hidden in the race-against-time plot. Unfortunately Prolys makes the characters battle existential angst as well. When asked by his students whether events taking place in the universe are random or predetermined, Ted replied, ‘I think shit just happens.’ Then as the chaos increases around him, he seems to be seeking it out.
Knowing is really one of those films that needs to be seen on a large screen with surround sound. From the opening scene which bombards the audience with whispering voices from every direction to the closing scene which is a visual and acoustic orgy of the most ambitious apocalypse, this thriller will hold you ransom. Along the way, it demands quite a few moments where disbelief needs to be suspended, so it’s best just to go along with the ride.
Lezly Herbert
